Over the past year and a half, I've had the privilege to do a couple international trips and am scheduled for another this fall. These are always fast-pace, run-and-gun documentary style projects, and I've always had trouble getting the right packing setup that meets the needs for both travel and production. The goal is usually to get all my clothes, toiletries, and gear into what I'm able to carry-on. To spare you any lengthy details of my previous struggles, I'll go ahead and share with you a recent purchase that has been a game-changer for me, the Tenba BYOB 13 Camera Insert and the Packlite Travel Bag.

The BYOB Camera Insert gives you the benefits of your typical camera bag, but is designed for you to insert it into the bag of your choice, hence the name "Bring Your Own Bag." The BYOB 13 is my personal favorite because it is able to hold my Canon 5D Mark iii, Canon 70-200 2.8, Canon 24-70 2.8, Zacuto Z-finder, GoPro Hero4, batteries, memory cards, iPhone, Rode VideoMic Go, Rode smartLav+, and quite a few other items. The other big bonus is the ability to pull all your gear out of your bag quickly if the airline tells you that you have to check your bag for a flight.

Once you arrive at your destination, the Packlite Travel Bag expands into a messenger bag that fits the BYOB Camera Insert with a little room to spare. There's not much to say about this bag other than it is compact when you need to pack it and fits the BYOB 13 Camera Insert once you're ready to head out with your select camera gear.

The Tenba BYOB Camera Insert ($59.95) and Packlite Travel Bag ($28.95) do exactly as advertised and I'm thrilled with the purchase. It was a no-brainer for me. If you travel with gear at all, you need to take a hard look at this setup...and then send me a thank you note once you've purchased them.